Cafeteria Lines
by mellomarie
Summary: -SasuSaku AU- Although a cafeteria line is hardly the perfect setting for a blooming romance, it's easy to think of the possibilities when Uchiha Sasuke is standing in front of you, and giving you free soup under the pretext that he doesn't like it.
1. chicken soup

**Cafeteria Lines**

**1: chicken soup**

Haruno Sakura began regretting coming to school today, especially since her cold kept getting worse. She had missed the day previous though, and the paranoia of missing critical lectures was difficult to handle. Blowing her nose sulkily, Sakura continued her trek down to the bustling cafeteria…

…and as usual, the line was monstrous.

She really wanted some soup though; the thought of slurping deliciously hot soup was the only thing that helped her through the day.

Sakura dragged herself at the end of the line, trying (and failing) to not think about how long she'd be standing there, and probably watching all of the precious soup get finished. It really wasn't fair; the day had been completely awful. She could hardly follow along in Chemistry class because she missed the lesson from the day before; the sensei proved to be no help and had basically left her to her own devices.

Unexpectedly, Sakura coughed rather harshly, covering her mouth as quickly as she could.

"Sorry," Sakura mumbled embarrassedly to the person in front of her, giving them a watery smile.

Uchiha Sasuke stared pointedly at her, a small grimace marring his features.

"I'm sorry!" Sakura cried mortified, fumbling through her bag, "Here, I'll get you a tissue. I didn't mean to cough in your face; I feel completely horrible."

She couldn't believe that she coughed in Uchiha Sasuke's face; if Ino were to ever find out she'd probably die from shock induced heart attack.

Her face reddened as he eyed her outstretched hand holding the tissue, the grimace never completely leaving his face. He mumbled his thanks after taking the tissue, and turned to the front once again, leaving Sakura to bawl silently.

Well, the day had _certainly_ got better.

It had occurred to her then that Sasuke was also in her chemistry class, and she could have easily asked him about the pervious lesson if she hadn't embarrassed herself so horribly.

"Is there something that you need?" Sasuke asked quietly, raising an eyebrow, "You're staring."

Sakura did have a horrible habit of staring when thinking intensely; or maybe she was lying rather elaborately to herself and was really staring at him because he was hot.

Maybe.

"I was just wondering," Sakura began uncomfortably, wringing her hands, "About the chemistry class? I wasn't here for yesterday's lecture so could you tell me what I missed?"

"We went over nomenclature—chapter six." He regarded her carefully, "He didn't assign the exercises in the text but they definitely helped."

"Oh! I'm so glad, I was worried that I missed a lot of material," Sakura smiled gratefully, "Thanks for your help; you can't imagine how appreciative I am."

He frowned at her, and Sakura couldn't help but notice the slight furrow of his eyebrows. It was surreal being this close to him, breathing in the same air, touching distance but not quite; it wasn't a secret that Sakura had a little bit of a crush on Sasuke, she just didn't think the crush would intensify the more she stood beside him.

"You're smart so I fail to see why you would be worried," Sasuke remarked flatly.

Sakura didn't know if he had just complimented her, but regardless of the outcome she felt her cheeks heat up instantly.

Then she began to blubber rather stupidly, gesturing her hands around, trying to say something remotely intelligent but all that came out was '_really?_' a couple times. She supposed he was disillusioned by her intelligence by the end of her ramblings.

He sighed, "It wasn't a compliment. It's a fact."

That really didn't help, but Sakura didn't think he realised how little he could say and still send girls in a swooning fit.

"Right," Sakura mumbled awkwardly, "Thanks anyway."

He nodded, and picked up a small plastic soup bowl. Sakura watched, in horror, as Sasuke grabbed the lid of the pot and poured himself the remaining soup. It was chicken soup too, and it smelled good. She couldn't help the small squeak of despair slip out.

Really though, it was foolish on her part to think there'd be any soup left, especially since the line was ridiculously long. She had clung to the small sliver of hope—only to watch it be snatched away by Uchiha Sasuke.

"Are you glaring at me?" Sasuke asked, his usually blank voice sounding strained.

"No!" Sakura cried, her eyes widening, "I mean, I may have but I wasn't really directing it to you. I was just glaring at life really."

"Glaring at life?"

Sakura nodded, defeated, "And cafeteria lines."

He eyed his soup, and then turned to look at her carefully, "You want the soup, right?"

Sakura giggled shrilly, shaking her hands furiously in front of her, "Of course not, I mean, why would I want it? It's just soup!"

He continued to stare at her, an eyebrow raised, "It's easy to tell when you're lying, and it was also pretty obvious that you wanted the soup—you kept staring at it."

"Okay, fine. Maybe I wanted the soup, because it was warm and this cold is bothering me, and the soup was the only thing that kept me remotely sane throughout the day.

"But you deserve the soup, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura stressed, "Because this line was brutal and you endured it. You deserve to eat the fruits of your labour."

Sasuke stared at her for awhile, the left side of his lips turning upwards (a smirk, but not really, Sakura liked how she evoked it anyway), until he grabbed her hand and put the bowl of soup on it; the instant heat making her hands redden. Although that really didn't explain why her cheeks were red too, but you couldn't really blame her for not wanting to acknowledge at how completely pathetic it was to blush about it.

Sasuke stuffed his hands into his pockets, and began walking out of the line then—at least, that was the plan.

"Wait! Sasuke-kun!"

He turned around, and sighed, "What?"

"Thank you," Sakura replied earnestly, "For the soup, for the chemistry help, but I know I already thanked you for that but I think it deserved reiterating."

"I don't like chicken soup," Sasuke murmured impassively, although he turned his eyes away from her when he said it.

Sakura smiled, "Oh, but I'm still grateful for it."

"Yeah, I noticed. You're grateful for a lot of things, apparently," Sasuke said wryly.

Sakura blushed, "Right, I did overdid the whole grateful thing, didn't I?"

Sasuke smirked, "Enjoy the soup."

And as Sakura watched Sasuke walk away, she found it difficult to believe that a person who'd easily given away their soup would spend half an hour in a line waiting for it.

Or maybe the elaborate self-lying technique was more common than she thought?

**A/N:**

Um, yeah. I've been writing like crazy lately, digging up old incomplete fics like this and finishing it up. It _is _fun writing like this again, I haven't been this active in awhile.

Anyway, this is a three-parter, hopefully you guys like it. This is—quite literally—my second foray into the highschool AU thing, so I hope I did it okay. I'm mega anal about ICness and stuff.


	2. tomatoes of fate

**Cafeteria Lines**

**2: tomatoes of fate**

"It's a bit like fate isn't it?" Sakura asked wryly, her hands folded behind her. 

Sasuke turned around, frowning at her, suddenly realizing how completely _dumb _that sounded. The more she talked to him, the more he probably thought that her 'smart girl' title was all a hoax. Ino always said that the more she talked the more people realised how completely warped the thought was. 

"I mean, it is funny right? It can't be a coincidence that we're both in the line again, at the same time, right beside each other, right?" Sakura asked, smiling off her nervousness.

Sasuke pointed behind her, "Shino's behind you this time."

Sakura turned around and regarded Shino carefully. She couldn't really tell what his expression was seeing as his eyes and mouth was covered. 

"Sorry I didn't notice you," Sakura murmured meekly.

"I'm used to it," He deadpanned.

"I'm surprised you believe in that stuff though," Sasuke replied thoughtfully, "It's a bunch of mindless dribble."

_That _stung. She couldn't help but be a romantic and believe in all of that; it made lonely girls like her feel better anyway. It was comforting to know that regardless of what happened now, your destiny dictated that you had a soul mate. 

Okay, maybe it was a bit stupid. Why couldn't she be witty and flirtatious like Ino? Or confident and strong like TenTen? Not a rambler who spewed out every unintelligent thought that came to them.

Before she could comprehend, Sakura felt anger boil in the pit of her stomach. So what if she believed in that 'mindless dribble'? It didn't make her any less of a person! 

"I know a lot of people who believe in fate and destiny, they're intelligent too. It may not make any sense to you but that doesn't make it any less legit." Sakura said defensively, "I mean, we all have our things that make us feel better right? I have chocolate ice-cream and fate! You have something too, right?"

"…tomatoes and jogging," Sasuke answered flatly.

Sakura stared at him, completely flabbergasted, "Tomatoes?"

He narrowed his eyes, "So? What's wrong with tomatoes?"

"Nothing at all," Sakura placated, "but…I'm a bit surprised, I guess."

"Tomatoes are great," Sasuke replied, "They're not sweet at all and it's not too tangy either. People should eat them more"

_This_ was weird. Out of all the conversations Sakura imagined with Sasuke, it wasn't the wonders of tomatoes. She thought it was endearing though, he seemed completely defensive about it too. 

"I like tomato slices in sandwiches, if that helps," Sakura smiled, "But tomatoes definitely need more love. "

"You're the first person I met who didn't hate tomatoes," Sasuke shrugged, "It's nice, I guess."

That impart might have to do with Sasuke not talking much period, and being around a ramen enthusiast all the time, but Sakura didn't want to rain on her own parade. It did slightly bother her that their connection was due to their shared 'love' of tomatoes, though.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," Sakura grinned, "You know, I still owe you right? Maybe I should get you a bowl of tomato soup, so we're even."

He frowned, "That's not necessary."

"I want to, though, so it doesn't really matter what you feel about it." Sakura reprimanded, "Besides, I have a feeling that it will make you very happy."

Sasuke frowned, "I'm not that simple-minded; tomato soup doesn't determine my happiness."

"True," Sakura added, giggling, "I think I have to thank these cafeteria lines though. The only reason I know so much about you is because of them. I guess they're not that horrible."

"They're still long," Sasuke reminded her.

"Right."

He frowned, "And you tend to never buy what you really wanted because of them."

"That does suck," Sakura murmured, "and then there's the off-chance of being beside somebody who reeks."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Did that really happen to you?"

Sakura grinned slyly "Maybe. But I don't think I have enough time to tell you about it, maybe next time if fate's kind."

He rolled his eyes, "Hn."

"You should give fate a bit more respect, and maybe we'll meet again and you'll hear my amazingly funny story," 

"I'll remember that," Sasuke muttered, buying a sandwich.

Sakura grabbed herself a sandwich too, a bit surprised that the line didn't feel as long as it usually did. Sasuke was great company though, regardless of popular opinion. 

"Look Sasuke-kun," Sakura cried, her eyes widening, "My sandwich has tomato slices; coincidence? I think not."

Sasuke smirked before replying, "They always have tomato slices."

_Party-pooper_, Sakura thought derisively.

"Whatever," Sakura retorted, "You'll believe in fate soon enough; just wait for tomorrow. We'll see each other again, and I'll be the one smirking."

"Hn."

"See you around Sasuke-kun...that is, if fate allows it."

Sasuke eyed her, although he looked bemused more than anything, "Whatever you say."

**A/N: **

I had a lot of fun writing this. Hopefully Sasuke-kun was IC though, he gives me the most trouble writing, mostly because I have to keep thinking about what to say without sounding redundant. Thanks so much for the reviews, I appreciated all of them. 

AND LOOKIE, I ADDED SHINO. AND SHINO ANGST. YAY. 

Please review, seriously, I heart you people like crazy. 


	3. painful clocks

**Cafeteria Lines**

**3: painful clocks**

She was going to be late, and this had nothing to do with being late for a class or anything remotely academic.

No, she was going to be late and miss lunch because of a stupid exam.

She wasn't a glutton or anything, it had nothing to do with food (although she was hungry); it was much more serious than that. She was going to miss standing in the cafeteria lines.

More specifically, the only chance she had with Uchiha Sasuke.

She grumbled and banged her head on her desk, inadvertently rumpling her test sheet.

This moment probably deserved to be categorised under the worst moments she'd ever experienced in her short seventeen years of life. It ranked just under the time when she was twelve and her goldfish died; and approximately the same level of awful as when her and Ino got into that nasty fight a year ago.

So, this sucked. _A lot._

The exam wasn't even that hard, it was just long. She was a perfectionist too, so of course she had to make sure every single answer was right, regardless of how much time she'd waste.

She eyed the clock, frowning—already two minutes into lunch. The worst part was that some lucky person was standing beside Sasuke, probably talking to him. She couldn't help but wonder if he noticed that she wasn't there. Would he be as disappointed as her?

Would he even care?

Sakura closed her eyes, willing herself to concentrate on the test. She was taking things too far; she was being completely and utterly stupid. She was putting meaning into coincidental (yes, _coincidental_) meetings that probably held no worth to Sasuke…

…but in reality, it didn't really matter what she said about their meetings. It obviously meant a lot to her if she was still thinking about it.

She hoped Sasuke was proud of himself; he was probably the only person who's managed to foil her elaborate self-lying technique.

* * *

She finally finished her exam fifteen minutes into lunch, and it took more than will power to prevent her from throwing the paper in the teacher's face.

Checking the clock before she bolted out of the classroom, Sakura realised that she had about twenty minutes left till lunch was over. Clearly there was no point in going to the cafeteria; she was positive that Sasuke bought his food already.

But he could always be there, right? After all, things happen, for all she knew he probably got held up as well. She never would know for sure until she checked, that's logical, isn't it?

Isn't it?

_I'm totally preparing myself for the ultimate let-down._

Sakura braced herself, breathing out heavily as she stared at the rather ominous looking cafeteria entrance. That sliver of hope was looking more and more ridiculous as she stalled, so before her rationale completely took over, she pushed the door firmly and walked inside…

…and saw Sasuke join the line, looking impassive as usual.

Okay. As perfect as this all was, there was something _seriously wrong_ with the scenario.

Sakura may be a hopeless romantic, but she wasn't completely deluded. Fate or not, it made no sense that Sasuke joined the cafeteria line right when she walked in.

Why would he come late? She didn't even see him in the hallway, so clearly he was already here.

Could it be possible that he actually _waited_ for her?

Her chest began to beat erratically as she walked towards the line, suddenly feeling warm. She stood behind him, waiting for him to say something—even though that was terribly out of character for him.

Sakura bit her lip before she blurted, "Did you wait for me?"

He turned around, frowning, "What?"

"I mean, did you wait until I finished my test? Or is this a huge coincidence and I'm just making a huge fool of myself?" Sakura asked, reddening.

He didn't answer right away; instead he stared at her, his forehead creasing. She felt beads of sweat slowly rolling off her brow, the silence deafening.

"What does it matter, anyway?" Sasuke asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"A lot actually," Sakura replied, smiling softly, "But maybe it's just a coincidence and I'm looking into things a bit too much."

"So what if I did wait?" Sasuke asked, sounding discomfited, "It doesn't even matter."

So she was right. He did wait, but she didn't know what to make of it. If anything, it made things more awkward.

"Why did you wait?"

"Because I knew it would upset you if I didn't, and you would annoy me."

Sakura smiled, her eyes downcast, "I guess you're right then, about the fate thing. I suppose it doesn't exist."

"It doesn't matter whether or not fate had anything to do with it," He shrugged, "The end result is the same, either way we're both here."

Sakura was sure that her rationale had to be completely gone if she had the courage to take Sasuke's hand. She saw him look at their joined hands, a quizzical look on his face.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

He faintly squeezed her hand before letting it go, "Hn."

* * *

By the time that they got to buy their food, there was practically nothing left except for some apples and egg salad sandwiches, the latter in which they both didn't like.

"I suppose I can deal with an apple," Sakura mumbled, "Do you want one too, Sasuke-kun?"

He wrinkled his nose, "No. I don't like apples much."

Sakura frowned, "It's my fault you don't have anything to eat, I'm sorry."

He shrugged, "It doesn't matter. Go buy your apple so we can get to class."

Sakura couldn't help but smile gleefully at his last remark, it wasn't much but it definitely gave the impression that he didn't mind her presence all that much.

Although Sakura was conveniently forgetting that she had Chemistry next, a class he happened to go to as well.

When Sakura finally bought her apple, and they began walking to class, Sasuke noted that she hadn't taken a bite out of her apple yet.

"Eat your apple."

Sakura eyed said apple warily, "I'd feel even worse if I ate in front of you."

He sighed, "I said it's fine, so stop worrying about it."

"In that case, I owe you two bowls of soup."

"If it makes you happy," Sasuke replied.

"It does make me happy," Sakura affirmed, smiling serenely, "You're company makes me happy, and you did so much for me in such a short period of time. I hope I can give you the same."

"You're exaggerating," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I gave you chicken soup."

"That I needed desperately," Sakura added, "And the chemistry help? And almost missing lunch because you waited for me?"

He shrugged, "Not a big deal."

"It's okay Sasuke-kun; I won't tell anybody that you're actually nice." Sakura replied cheekily, "Besides, I'm still paying you back whether you like it or not."

"I don't mind free soup."

"And my company?"

Sasuke smirked, "Tolerable."

"Tolerable?" Sakura repeated, frowning, "That's a bit disappointing."

"Enough free soup may change that."

Sakura sighed, "I guess I should start dishing out the free soup soon."

"_Tomato_ soup."

"Tomato soup," Sakura corrected, and then they were smiling at one another, at least, Sakura was. Sasuke didn't look completely impassive, and that was always plus. She felt disappointment mounting in the pit of her stomach as their class neared. It wasn't like they could talk to each other in class, especially since it was assigned seating.

"So, um, I guess this goodbye." Sakura said, unable to completely smile.

"Meet me after school."

Sakura frowned in confusion, "What?"

"For the free soup," He clarified, flatly. Although his eyes were turned away from her, a habit Sakura had noticed on more than one occasion.

"Okay," Sakura replied, surprised her voice didn't fail her.

"And don't be late."

Sakura smiled, "I won't."

Then they both entered the classroom, the teacher already lecturing, but Sakura didn't seem to care. Her heart was racing, and her lips were dry as the class dragged on painfully, as she desperately wished for the clock to go just a bit faster.

And every time she did look at the clock to see how many minutes (and seconds) had passed, she saw Sasuke look up too.

* * *

**A/N: **

Finished! I hope the ending was okay; I tried to be a bit fluffy so hopefully it didn't come out too awkward. Thank you all for the very sweet reviews, seriously. So, yeah. Let me know what you think of it!


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